A round-cut solitaire with tiny white diamonds encrusting the band encircled the ring finger of her left hand. The brilliant stone was at least two carats and canary yellow, the hue so pure and rich it reminded her of Samuel’s eyes. His wolf’s eyes.
“Marry me,” he said again, head lowering to work his teeth at the spot where shoulder met neck, and a recent bite mark showed darkly against her fair skin. “I want you to be mine in every way.”
Abby didn’t need the human piece of paper to prove she belonged to Samuel, but Lord did she want it. Wanted it all. Wanted anything that bound them together more tightly.
Wanted everything her parents had once.
“Okay,” she said on a wisp of air, heart rate rabbiting.
“Okay?” Samuel’s wide grin was infectious as his sword-calloused hand skated to her waist, abrading deliciously over her hip and down the outside of her thigh.
“I love you…so much.” A single tear escaped to roll down her cheek, but she smiled at the stunning male hovering above her, tangling her fingers in the jagged strands of his hair, and tugging his face closer to hers. “Yes.”
“Thank you, darlin’,” he said against her lips before taking her mouth fast and hard. Entering her body slow and easy.
Another rib-crushing embrace from Johnnie returned Abby to the present, the heated memory bringing a blush to her cheeks.
“We could go to Nashville for the dress. Make it a girls weekend,” Johnnie was saying enthusiastically. “It could be your bachelorette party. I bet Lady Rose would pull some strings with the Standish House’s representative in the city and get us a table at Fuse; Pater Quinn Buchanan’s nightclub is always jam-packed.”
There was no shot of Abby leaving the safety of the island on a road trip anytime soon, but she didn’t have the heart to burst Johnnie’s bubble quite yet.
As far as they knew, Nathan Sinclair and the Sídhe Lord weren’t aware Abby managed fleeting changes to the Rip.
Sídhe Lord!
Although not confirmed, Samuel believed the leader of the Athair was a pureblood Fae. It made horrifying sense, justifying Sinclair’s level of cooperation and expectation of future aid. It explained Derek’s possession of a magical weapon and his arrogance if descended from the Sídhe’s bloodline. And it hinted at why the ancient, realm-locked lord might want Abby badly enough to kidnap her—to return to his homeland. It was the unknown motives and ramifications of an open gateway to Faery that terrified her.
The cursed dagger had been entrusted to Grandmaster Lake for study and safekeeping. But even the region’s highest-ranking witch hadn’t been told the whole story, no one forgetting there was a traitor somewhere on the island.
“But first we have to find Penny a get-out-of-ex-army-ranger-big-brothers-jail-free card. Geez Louise! I didn’t think any siblings could be more protective than Albert and Oscar are of me. I was wrong.”
Derek hadn’t been seen in Memphis since trying to kill Samuel, but Penny’s brothers weren’t taking any chances. One of the three ex-rangers shadowed their baby sister everywhere, and it was driving her friend crazy.
Samuel assigned a recovered Hop Blackwater to keep an eye on Penny to be extra-safe. The fiery redhead’s response to her less-than-favorite shifter joining an already unwanted protection team was anything but enthusiastic. Her rather colorful verbal tirade at the suggestion prompted Evelyn to volunteer for the job. But to everyone’s surprise, Hop flatly refused to relinquish the position. The Guard felt responsible for Abby’s kidnapping, infuriated the Ferwyn waiter somehow fooled Hop into believing Tucker had extended the temporary pack bond. He swore Scott didn’t smell outcast and carried the Walker beta’s scent.
The nerves at the base of Abby’s skull started to tingle. She swiveled in Johnnie’s grip awkwardly and spotted Samuel and Tucker coming down the walking path of the park.
“Fuse has that hot, new band headlining for the next month.” Johnnie didn’t turn at the fast approaching shifters, and said overly loud, “Speaking of hot, Quinn Buchanan is one sexy male. Maybe he’ll be there, and we can drool over…err…catch a glimpse of him while we’re there.”
Tucker’s ferocious scowl was comical compared to the huge grin plastered on his companion’s face. Samuel’s avid gaze grabbed Abby’s, and she returned his happy smile with a sappy, lovesick one of her own.
“Pater Buchanan is far too old for you, pup,” he said, plopping himself cross-legged on the blanket and pulling Abby onto his lap.
“No, he’s not,” Johnnie replied rather sullenly, her eyes cutting to the beta looming over them and then to her Alpha. “I’ll reach my majority in less than a month and will be considered an adult she-wolf. Finally.”
“I haven’t forgotten.” Samuel draped his arm around Abby’s chest, fitting her into the niche of his body perfectly. “But have you forgotten Buchanan’s a vampire?”
“I didn’t say I planned on making him my mate.” Johnnie’s chin tilted stubbornly, freckles partially camouflaged by reddened cheeks.
Tucker growled, eyes narrowed into slits and glowing yellow, pinned on the female shifter’s flushing face.
“Lieutenant, can you walk our almost-grown clanmate home? I need a word with my Ca’anam.”
“I can walk myself,” Johnnie said with a pretty pout. Jumping to her feet, she smiled at Abby, raised her nose high, and marched past the glowering beta. Tucker stalked after her.
Samuel sighed and gently framed her throat. If the mating bond hadn’t already warned her, the fingers seeking the pulse on her neck would have confirmed his worry.
It couldn’t be Faraday. The ambassador hadn’t returned to the island or contacted Abby since the news conference. He and the director must know as Samuel’s Ca’anam she wouldn’t betray the Clan or the queen. And she would never return to the facility by choice.
“What is it? Have you found Sarah’s mate?” she asked. “Or has something happened to Conlan?” Her heart rate spiked. It had been weeks since Samuel rescued her and still no word from her brother.
“No, James hasn’t returned yet.” Strain was evident in his voice. “But my sister seems to be holding up better than expected.”
Abby felt his bristled cheek scrape across her hair, his thumb softly stroking her skin. “So, it’s Conlan then?” A cold prickle of fear slithered over her heated skin.
“Shhh…he’s alive,” he said, mouth near her ear. “We’ve finally gotten word through an unnamed source, a voicemail saying there’s something vitally important Conlan needed to handle and squirt shouldn’t worry.”
Abby breathed a sigh of relief, and then said with a huff, “Like that’s gonna happen.”
Samuel laid her onto her back, moved above her, the powerful lines of his body held tautly. “You will not fret about your brother. He can take care of himself.”
“Fret?” Abby worried her lower lip. “I don’t fret.”
“You do, and I don’t like it.” His nose landed in the curve of her neck. He inhaled. Tensed. “You will stop, my Ca’anam.”
“I will?” She concealed the anxiety in her voice with a teasing lilt, wishing the scent of her distress could be masked as easily.
“Immediately.”
“And if I can’t?”
Samuel lifted his head from her throat and threaded his fingers through hers, locking their palms together. The diamond band dug into her skin, a sweet reminder she wasn’t alone. Not anymore. Not ever again.
“I’ll have to find a way to distract you until you stop.” His eyes shone as brightly as the sun, face lowering until only a wisp of air separated their mouths. “Okay?”
Whatever the future brought, they’d face it together. “Okay.”
Author’s Note
Welcome to Blood Island!
I hope you enjoyed Fae Touched, Samuel’s and Abby’s story. Although we will see the wolf shifter commander and his halfblood again, future books in the series feature a different couple as they navigate life, love, and the magic
al world of the Fae Touched. I hope you’ll follow their journey along with me!
I need to thank my husband for being long-suffering, supportive, generous with my time and his money, but not necessarily in that order. And to my three daughters who were somewhat understanding, often helpful and semi-adult when beta reading a sex scene their mom wrote. I am also grateful to my friend, Sharlene Moore for her invaluable insight and advice. I owe you lunch.
A huge thank you to Emily Cotler @waxcreative.com for putting up with a newbie author. The woman has the patience of a saint, as do my editors: Stacy Jerger and Mary-Theresa Hussey. Yes, it took two of them to pull this project together.
And a special shout-out to you, the reader; I can’t believe you took a chance on an indie author with zero backlog—one with a penchant for Alpha males and the strong women who will love them in spite of their bossy (albeit sexy) butts. I would be ever so appreciative if you left a few words about the book at your favorite review site. Reviews are an author’s lifeblood.
Feel free to keep in touch. I’d love to hear from you
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And above all
Stay Fae!
Lisa Rae Roman
Excerpt: Fae Divided
A Fae Touched Novella
“I won’t do it.”
“It wasn’t a request, Mr. Reed.”
Wolf shifter James Reed turned his back on the Dádhe prince, striding to the chapel’s wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. He propped his shoulder on the engraved wooden frame and watched the sun begin its ascent over the cobblestone streets of Mud Island’s Queenstown. Curling his fingers into fists to prevent the stinging tips from converting into claws, he smiled without humor as the morning light spread, chasing the dark shadows away and guaranteeing the vampire heir would have a painful trek home.
The pre-dawn, clandestine meeting was arranged without informing James of the reasons beforehand and what had been revealed so far didn’t jell with the enormous sacrifice the prince of the East South Central Region was asking him to make.
“You don’t need my help unearthing a few witches who are in bed with the knights,” James said, grinding his teeth to keep them from lengthening. He was holding onto his human form by a thin thread.
The Knights of Humanity, or the KoH, was an influential human-run organization with a radical agenda to repeal the Fae Accord. Abolishment of the almost ninety-year-old treaty between the Fae Touched community of magic-users and their human neighbors would ultimately threaten the sovereignty of all nonhumans in the US, and the prince insisted, lead to war.
“If incendiary magic was used in the latest rash of off-island vandalism against Fae Touched businesses as we suspect,” James continued, “the traitorous Anwyll will be found and brought to the queen’s justice.” The swift punishments were far harsher than any carried out in a human court of law.
“Disloyal witches might not be all we have to worry about.” Prince Myles sidled up to James with his hands buried deep inside the pockets of crisply pressed trousers. The vampire didn’t flinch as the first diffused rays of daylight streaked across his face. “It appears the rumors that shifter outcasts have taken up with the knights in the ongoing attempt to disrupt the peace between humanity and the Fae Touched are more than rumors. We have to find out how Ferwyn males are remaining sane without an Alpha’s binding.”
“It’s not possible,” James said. “An exiled shifter wouldn’t be able to function long without an intact bond with an Alpha. He’d turn feral within twelve months of breaking ties with his Ferwyn pack.”
“Which is why your cooperation is vital. I need you to infiltrate these rebel Ferwyns. Discover whether another monarch has sent an Alpha into our region to control these Clanless shifters and why they’ve chosen to join with the knights. Or if it turns out an outcast from our region is right-minded enough to hold together a surrogate pack…dispose of him.”
“When Noah was whelped, I promised Sarah that I was done with dangerous undercover work.”
“You can’t tell your mate or Príoh Walker about this assignment. No one can know.”
James grabbed the lapels of the Dádhe prince’s suit and got up in Myles’ impassive face. “You want my truemate to think I left her willingly? Lie to my pack’s Alpha?”
“It’s necessary for the success of the mission.” His voice was calm, his body lax. “Príoh Walker would never approve the abandonment of his sister. Even though there is no one better suited for this job than you.”
“It won’t work.” James shook his head, unable to hold in a growl. “Sarah will never believe it. None of my clanmates will.”
Though not born into the Memphis-based wolf shifter pack, James had claimed the previous Alpha’s daughter as his truemate—his Ca’anam—over three decades prior and raised a pup within its fold. He was a trusted warrior and brother-in-law by marriage to the present Clan Príoh, local pack Alpha, and Commander of the Guard, Samuel Walker. No one would ever buy James betraying his family. His pack. His commander.
“Be convincing,” Prince Myles said, his incisors remained hidden, his scent unworried. “You were a spy in two world wars, which proves you are a talented liar and with the right setup…a credible traitor. I’m counting on you being persuasive enough to cast doubt on your loyalty. Your apparent defection will do the rest.”
“No.” He lost the battle for control, claws emerging and tearing the expensive fabric of the vampire’s jacket. “I won’t let Sarah think I’ve deserted her.”
“Can Mrs. Reed convincingly fake the despair of a truemate’s betrayal?”
“No female could,” James snarled, gums swelling and canines aching for release.
“Exactly, and as I said earlier, this isn’t a request.” Myles’ piercing green gaze met James’ glowing wolf-yellow without fear or sympathy. “A strong alpha male can survive a prolonged separation from his Ca’anam.”
“But our claimed females cannot. Mentally or physically. Her body will start deteriorating in a matter of weeks. And if I’m captured or forcibly kept away from Sarah too long…” He lifted the prince onto his toes, a low growl vibrating in his chest. “She. Could. Die.”
“Then don’t get caught,” he said, hands finally leaving his pockets to wrap around James’ wrists like cold, steel bands. “I’m not exaggerating when I say our treaty with the US government is at risk.”
Vampires, shifters, and witches had lived alongside the Untouched, or nonmagical population, for centuries. Though there would always be prejudice on both sides, there hadn’t been a species war in over two hundred years. And never one on American soil.
“I doubt a few treasonous witches and a makeshift pack of Ferwyn outcasts will incite a retraction of the Accords.”
“Then you haven’t been paying attention. The Untouched fear us. They always have, and they always will.”
“The magical races accounts for less than one percent of the world’s population. The Fae Touched are not a threat to humans despite our enhanced physical and magical abilities.”
“And their increasing boldness proves they are aware of that fact. Technology, along with humanity’s sheer numbers, negates every magical advantage we once held. The Dádhe barely survived the European Blood Wars, and none of the Fae Touched would last long in a modern-day battle.”
“How do you expect me to pull this off? Do you even have a plan?” James asked. Was he going to do this? Did he have a choice?
“Hostilities between humans and nonhumans have escalated without recourse; the culprits responsible for the recent destruction of Fae Touched property in the region remain unchecked. You’re tired of the ongoing harassment
of our people, and upset Commander Walker has not pressed the issue with our vampire queen.” Prince Myles quirked a dark eyebrow, and James pried his nails free, releasing his suitcoat. “Shouldn’t be hard to fake.”
“Samuel won’t be fooled easily.” A strong-minded Ferwyn might be able to block his emotions from his Alpha for a short period, but it would be almost impossible for James to hide his true feelings from an Alpha as strong as his wife’s brother for long.
“Force a confrontation with the commander in front of pack members.” Prince Myles straightened his tie, tugged at the cuffs of his dress shirt and calmly said, “Challenge him for the position of Alpha in Memphis.”
James took a step back, but couldn’t hold in another snarl. “He is the leader of Clan Walker, the most dominant Alpha in the entire region. I wouldn’t have a shot at defeating him.”
How far would he have to take the deception for everyone to believe it? Far enough to fight his brother-in-law. Far enough that Sarah would suffer. Far enough to make the Knights of Humanity trust him. How far was he willing to go to save the Fae Touched?
“Losing is the point,” Myles said, gaze cutting to the UVA treated windows and the sunlight streaming through the colored glass. The vampire’s dark hair was kept short, and he popped his jacket’s collar to cover the bare skin on his nape. “We need a legitimate excuse for you to leave the Walker Pack. And as a bonus, I can use your disappearance and apparent faithlessness as a diversion while I investigate my Dádhe House.”
“You think there are traitors in Standish House, among the queen’s blood-bound?” James asked, brow furrowed. “How is that even possible with the Calling?”
All Dádhe within a region were irrevocably bonded by a magical blood oath, the Calling making it physically impossible for any blood-bound to act against the leader of their vampire family. Rose Standish was the matriarch of the territory’s ruling Dádhe House. She was also the East South Central’s Fae Touched queen and Prince Myles’ biological aunt.
Fae Touched (Fae Touched Book 1): Paranormal Romance Page 31
